Monday, 13 May 2013

[cobirds] Crow Valley CG (Weld) and Fort Morgan (Morgan) on 5/13/13

Crow Valley CG today was birdy but not outstanding in terms of rarities.  Suffice it to say no Cerulean Warbler was seen despite a recently unvetted eBird report, and lots of searching by several veteran Colorado birders.

Best birds that I saw at CVCG during a morning visit and a brief evening visit (after a mid-day trip over to Fort Morgan) were:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (young male)
Lazuli Bunting (young male in heavy molt)
lots of Spizella sparrows of the three expected species at this time of year
Least Flycatcher (1 singing)
American Redstart (1 male found by Bill Romme)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1)
Gray Flycatcher (1) along the creekbed se of the main picnic shelter
Gray Catbird (2)
Northern Waterthrush (1 whitish individual)
MacGillivray's Warbler (1m)
Plumbeous Vireo (1)
Swainson's Thrush (maybe 10 or so?, no other thrushes beside robins seen)
Common Yellowthroat (at least 3)
Dark-eyed Junco (4, pink-sided)
Pine Siskin (several)
Total of 52 species (38 of which are species that winter wholly or mostly south of CO)

Rachel Hopper reported seeing a male Indigo Bunting at CVCG this morning.

Almost all neotropical migrants at Crow Valley were in Plains Cottonwoods picking for Dorytomus weevils and other insects in the catkins, usually near the tops of the trees.  The second most common foraging site was flowering Golden Currant shrubs.  The elms still look like March.

In Fort Morgan I birded the Riverside Park Nature Trails (about a 3 mile loop along the river n of I-76 just e of SR52):
Western Tanager (2)
lots of Spotted Towhees
several Eastern Kingbirds
MacGillivray's Warbler (1m)
Northern Bobwhite (2)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1f)
very few warblers

1 young Northern Watersnake (FOY snake)

At Riverside Cemetery (entrance at 8th and Walnut) in Fort Morgan:
Swainson's Thrush (5)
Clay-colored Sparrow (1)
Pine Siskin (few, going to nest locally?)
very lackluster (by comparison, last Monday I had two Black-and-white Warbler males in the same hackberry tree!)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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